


Our Little House

by NanoTwentyFaces



Category: RWBY
Genre: All of the angst and feels here, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings Realization, M/M, Memories, Romance, The two men that deserve to be happy, volume 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 21:09:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12490900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanoTwentyFaces/pseuds/NanoTwentyFaces
Summary: While cleaning the house, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar find a postcard with a little house on it. Only to find out it belongs to Qrow. What's so special about it to him?





	Our Little House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FandomLastsForever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLastsForever/gifts), [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts), [TigerMoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerMoon/gifts).



> You have no idea how long i've had this idea in my head and I pushed myself to write it all in one sitting.

Qrow had been stumbling around the house most of the day with a hangover. It’d only been a few days that he’d given Oscar the cane and brought him here, and even though he had Ozpin’s memories it still astounded him how much the man could drink. He’d asked Ozpin, and even Ruby, several times if they were sure Qrow didn’t have some form of alcohol poisoning. To which each responded with, “I’m not even sure his liver functions properly anymore for him to get it”.

With Qrow being hungover, and with no word from Lionheart, they all had stayed home. Currently, Oscar sat on the couch with Ren, reading. They’d managed to find a library near where they were staying, to Oscar and Ruby’s excitement. Mistral had many more books than back on his Aunt’s farm. Oscar smiled down into the book, enjoying the wondrous tale; Ozpin’s own contentedness tickled at the back of his mind. At least they’d found one thing they had in common; finding out one liked brussel sprouts and the other hated them was not a fun experience the other night.

With Ren and Oscar reading, Jaune and Nora had taken to tidying up the house while Ruby shut herself into the other room to tend to Crescent Rose. They could just hear the muffled sound of rock music from inside.

“She’s wearing headphones, isn’t she?” Oscar tentatively asked, peeking up from his book.

“Yeah,” Jaune answered, sweeping under the table, “She likes to wear them while working so she can hear the music over her tools.”

“Wouldn’t that hurt her ears?”

“Oh no way!” Nora chimed in, hanging down from the chandelier, spray bottle in one hand, a rag in the other. “We’re used to having loud noises in our ears all the time!”

Oscar glanced over at Ren for clarification. “A lot of stuff blows up around us and we have loud weapons.”

“Your ears will adjust to all of it eventually,” Jaune gave Oscar a half-hearted smile. “I know mine had to.”

“He was only deaf for three days.” Nora sang, swinging back and forth.

“Nora, please don’t swing from the chandelier.” Ren commented, not looking up from his own book. As soon as the words left his mouth, the lamp tilted a bit too far, Nora’s legs coming unhooked from it and sending her to the ground and into Jaune’s dirt pile.

“Nora, I just swept all that up.” Jaune groaned. Nora let out a timid oops, laying facedown on the floor. Her eyes suddenly flickered to underneath the couch. Scooting over, she reached an arm under, grabbing around for something. Oscar tilted his head in curiosity as she brought her arm back out, pulling out….a card?

“What’s that?” Oscar asked.

She turned it over in her hand, examining it. Jaune walked over behind her, looking at it too. “It looks like a postcard.” Jaune stated.

“A….postcard?” Oscar, scooted to the edge of the couch to get a closer look.

“That’s weird.” Nora said, turning it over again. “There’s no name on it.”

“It’s blank.” Jaune clarified.

“Where’d it come from?” Oscar asked. “Or, whose is it?”

“It’s not mine.” Nora said.”

“Or mine.” Jaune echoed.

“Ren?” Nora held up the card, getting only a shake of his head.

“What’s the picture on the other side?” Oscar asked, curiously.”

Nora turned the card over again, letting them all see. They all peered at the picture, what looked like a mini-painting: a small, 2-story, wood-house. A patio wrapped around the bottom floor. There were flowers around the frame and windows, with a few vines climbing up onto the roof. A small balcony with more flowers on it and windows on each side of the door. The background suggested the house was on the edge of a forest, a yard in front. Oscar, and Ozpin, took special notice of a small, black bird on a birdfeeder outside the front door. It was cute. It felt homey to Oscar.

“Look how cute this little house is, Ren!” Nora lifted the card up again to show him.

“Hmm, it is very cute.” Ren agreed.

“You think it’s okay to keep it?” Nora asked no one in particular.

“Well,” Jaune started, “There’s no name on it. So, I guess it’s okay.”

 _Ahem_. Suddenly a hand came down, plucking the card from Nora’s fingers. All four looked up to see Qrow. A hand on his hip, holding the card up, his usual sullen expression on his face. “Didn’t think to ask anyone else in this house if it was theirs?”

“Oh,” Nora sounded, hunching her shoulders up, “Sorry, Qrow.”

“It’s yours?” Jaune questioned. “Didn’t think you were the type to carry around postcards.”

“I don’t.” Qrow answered, narrowing his eyes and turning away to saunter up the stairs.

They silently watched him go, puzzled expressions.

“Always sunshine and rainbows with him.” Jaune breathed, picking up his broom and dustpan to continue sweeping. Nora shrugged her shoulders, bouncing away to finish her own cleaning, while Ren was still unmoved from his spot, reading.

Oscar stayed in place on the couch, looking at the stairs. His eyes narrowed and eyebrows tilted in concern. “Are you sure that’s normal?”

“According to Ruby,” Ren answered, “yes.”

“I don’t know.” Oscar muttered, looking down.

“You’ll get used to it.” Nora sang. “We did.”

“Probably just went upstairs to drink like he normally does.” Jaune rolled his eyes, sweeping his once-again collected dirt into the dustpan.

Pursing his lips, Oscar stared at the floor. Something was wrong. At least that’s the feeling he was getting from Ozpin, and he knew-or remembered- Qrow much better than him. Silently, Oscar pushed himself off the couch, going upstairs himself.

 

~                                          ~

 

Qrow sat on the roof, an arm around his knees, holding the card in front of him. He stared at it through the moonlight, and nearby lamp posts. He stared at emotionlessly, feeling the light breeze rustle his hair and flutter the card slightly. Sighing, he leaned back, laying flat on the roof, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes.

“I’m an idiot.” He breathed out, dropping his arm to the side. Now he stared up the stars. His eyes flickered back and forth over the sky. Stargazing was supposed to be fun, relaxing. But, damn the gods, on every group of stars he looks at forming into _gears_. No matter what angle, they all joined together to form gears; just like looking up in Ozpin’s office.

“Ugh,” Qrow sounded, sitting up again. He tilted the card up, still in his hand, staring at it again. _Why did I ever buy this thing?_

 

~ ~

“Checkmate. I win again.” Ozpin hummed smugly in his chair.

“Aw, come on!” Qrow slammed his hands on the desk, standing up. “I had you!”

“So you thought.” He smirked at Qrow who pouted in response, crossing his arms and sinking into his chair.

“Just when I think I can win.” Qrow mutters. He sighs looking back up at Ozpin. “Oz, do you really think we can win?”

Ozpin blinks, his expression falling and replaced with an empathetic one. “No. I can’t guarantee that we’ll win this battle. I wish I could say I did, but in all truth I cannot.” He spun his chair, rising and walking over to the window. “Salem is persistent, powerful, smart. She won’t stop until she has what she wants, and she knows how to use others to get it.”

Qrow stood up himself, coming to stand behind him, his hands in his pocket. “Well we sort of have a plan. And when push comes to shove, we can figure something out? You’re the smartest guy I know, so we’re not totally helpless.”

“One step at a time.” Ozpin stated. “Whatever happens we must handle it carefully. We never know how many steps ahead the enemy is.”

“Well you’re always at least ten ahead of me when we play, so I have faith in that.” Qrow shrugged, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “And….i’m here to do whatever you need.”

Ozpin turned, smiling at him. They stood there in silence, smiling at one another. Breaking it, Ozpin tapped his cane, walking off. “Why don’t I go make some hot cocoa. There’s still a bit of Winter chill left in the air. It’ll warm our hearts and our minds!”

  


The two now stood in the upper level of Ozpin’s office. Qrow sitting on the railing, Ozpin leaning on the window across from him. Each sipped at a mug of hot cocoa, the sun setting in the evening sky outside. Ozpin watched, Qrow take an attempt at downing his drink in one go, only to fail and almost fall off the rail. He breathed out a laugh, looking down, rubbing his thumb on the mug in his hands.

Qrow re-settling himself, looked over at Ozpin, catching the expression on his face. Something was up. Qrow thought for a moment, choosing his words. “What are you contemplating in the mysterious swirl of chocolate? Do you see something Mr. Mystic?” He smirked, letting his teeth show.

“Unfortunately, no.” Ozpin chuckled. “Perhaps you could provide me with it.”

“Don’t look at me, i’m not a psychic.” Qrow raised his hands, quickly bringing them back down, almost spilling his drink.

“Qrow,” Ozpin began, looking out at the window. The sunlight illuminating him around the edges, making him seem to glow. “If there was some way…..some way that we could win this battle soon one day….” He turned his head back to look at Qrow. “How would you want to live your life?”

The question caught him off guard. Qrow shifted, one foot now on the floor steadying him, looking down into his own mug. “Well,” He began, trying to sound happy, “I could go travelling around the world visiting the greatest bars and having as many drinks as I want!”

A tilt of Ozpin’s head told him he wasn’t buying it. And he was right. Qrow exhaled, hopping off the railing, shoving a hand in his pocket. “I….guess I never really thought about it. Didn’t really _ever_ give much thought to what I wanted to do with my life even before all this. The only time you could count was leaving the tribe, but after that I’ve just taken things in stride.”

“Have you ever thought about settling down? Having a family, or possibly live permanently with Taiyang and your nieces?”

“No,” Qrow breathed out, “Not really into that. You know me, a free bird all the way.” He paused. “What about you?”

Ozpin blinked, caught off guard the same as Qrow. He let out a small laugh. “Unfortunately for me, I do not have the luxury of those thoughts.”

“No no no, If we defeat Salem then both of our jobs are done. You’d have a free life too. Wouldn’t you?”

“My duties, of who I am, are everlasting.” Ozpin said, gazing off into the ground. “My life is not the same as yours or anyone else's. So, I have not really given that notion much thought.”

“Well, if you _could_ live like me or anyone else, what would you do?”

“I do wonder what it would be like to live a normal, pleasant life. Though I do appreciate things from this life, I wonder what it would be like to have those in one without a responsibility as great as this. In truth, I wish I could be like you, Qrow.”

  
  


Qrow walked down the street, hunched over, hands shoved in his pockets. He furrowed his brow, glaring at the ground. What Ozpin said wouldn’t leave his head. Ozpin, one of the strongest, smartest people on Remnant, said he wished he could be like him. Qrow admired Ozpin with all he was, and Ozpin had told Qrow things he’d admired about him, but to actually say he wished to be like him.

His mind looped back to the question. What _did_ he want to do? It racked his brain. Why was this so hard? The only thing he ever thought about right now was being with Oz. To be there at his beck and call, ready for whatever he needed.

Qrow stopped, pulling his hands out of his pockets. He brought one up to his neck, holding his cross necklace in the palm. Now that he thought about it, whenever he wasn’t on a mission, he always was with Ozpin. Sometimes, he’d drop in to Tai’s place to visit, but he always found himself first going to wherever Ozpin was.

Was that the answer? Was that what he wanted? To be with Ozpin? He already had that right now, though.

 

_“I wish I could be like you.”_

 

A roll of thunder rattled him out of his thoughts. Watching the sky, Qrow sauntered into a nearby shop. He didn’t need to be getting soaked in the rain right now, much less fly in a thunderstorm. Giving a huff, he began perusing the shelves and racks. He’d wandered into a basic store.

He has looked at everything in the store in less than five minutes. The last thing he hadn’t looked at being a spinning rack of postcards. He began spinning the rack, scanning all the cards. All of them were pretty bland and cliche like “Greetings from Vale” and whatnot. He was scanning the last side when his hand stopped on one that caught his eye.

Picking up the card, he looked closer at the image: a small, two-story, wooden house with flowers all around the frame and a few vines climbing up to the roof. It looked like it was on the edge of a forest; like a small painting, subtle, yet catching his eye out of all the other ones.

 

 _“I wish I could be like you_.”  

 

“What do I want to do?” Qrow muttered under his breath. He closed his eyes, listening to the rain outside. _Think, Qrow. If there was no Salem, no battle, what would want to do?_

 

_“Have you ever thought about settling down? Having a family?”_

 

Qrow’s eyes snapped open. He looked back down at the card, blinking dejectedly at it. He’d never thought about that question before. He didn’t think about a life he wanted to live if things were different. He didn’t think about it, because he _had_ a life he’s happy with. Just as he thought before, all he thought about was being by Ozpin’s side and protecting everyone. That’s all that mattered, he didn’t need anything else.

But, thinking inward, he realized he may have wanted more at another point. When Raven got together with Tai and then Summer, he saw them make a family and be happy. He was jealous at one point, but that stopped…..around the time he started to fully work for Ozpin.

Still, why had Ozpin asked him that question? What was the purpose? Did Ozpin really want the same thing? Being like him and wanting to be by their side? But, he doesn’t think it’s possible. He believes it isn’t possible.

Taking a deep breath, Qrow fished some lien out of his pocket, tossing it on the counter and hurrying out the door. He stopped outside the door, looking down at the card again.

_I want to live my life with Oz. We’ll finish this fight, one day. We’ll have this house, where Oz can live the life he wants. Where we can just…..live._

Qrow took off into the sky, shifting, determinedly flapping his wings against the wind and rain.

_I’ll save up the money. I’ll make the blueprints, or find someone to. I’ll find the perfect place for it. I’ll build it. Our small little house. That’s what I want. I’ll build this small little house for me and Oz. It’ll be our home. And I’ll make it happen no matter what._

 

~ ~

 

Qrow grit his teeth as the memory finished in his head. He brought out his flask tipping it back, only to find it empty. Of course, just his luck it was empty. With a frustrated yell, he threw the flask. It clanked onto the balcony below.

Qrow rested his eyes in his hand, taking deep breaths. He should be happy that Ozpin was back. He’d found him. But at the same time, it wasn’t the same him. Things were different now. Ozpin had warned him about his little trick to cheat death, but the fact it actually came to fruition.

“Uhhh, Qrow?” A voice sounded below, from the balcony. Qrow looked up to see Oscar standing on the balcony. Awkward and nervous, just like at the bar.

“What’s up, kid?” He scooted down, closer to the edge.

Oscar rubbed his hands together. “I wanted to ask if….you were okay? You seemed kind of…..” He trailed off rubbing the back of his head.

“I’m fine. Just out of something to drink.” Qrow loosely gestured to the flask on the balcony. “Complicated things are going on right now and not having something to drink is not fun for me.”

Oscar slowly broke the silence, tiptoeing over his words.

“What’s that postcard?" He asked. "If you don’t mind me asking.” Oscar quickly added, clasping his hands behind his back.

Qrow sighed, looking down. “Just a dream, kid. Nothing but a dream.”

**Author's Note:**

> I almost cried several times writing some lines here. I just couldn't get the idea of Qrow having a small house just for him and Oz, whether they got to live in it or not. They just deserve to have that and I wish they could. T-T
> 
> Edit: There will a part 2! If you got your heart broken, don't worry, a happier ending is coming!


End file.
